Usually when people say “love is not enough,” they are speaking about romance. That’s related, I suppose, but not central to the discussion here. Nonetheless, if your interest is romance, it is easy enough to google the phrase and find out why love alone will not sustain a romance.

Still, I hope you will terry a while. The subject here is at least as important as a floundering romance.

When Jesus walked among us 2,000 years ago, He came because He loves us, and He want us to love Him and each other. His love, however, was not enough to save us. His love only motivated Him to save us. Because of His mercy, we live. Because of His grace, we have the opportunity to live with Him forever.

God loves us, but He could not ignore our sins. Yes, God is Love, but God is also Truth and Justice, and Justice requires recompense. Therefore, because He loves us, Jesus paid the price for sins. Jesus’s grace and mercy saved us from Hell, at least those of us who both believe they need and have faith in Jesus’ grace and mercy.

Just as love was not enough for Jesus to save us, love alone is not enough to live as followers of Christ. Yet we tend to think otherwise. Why? We allow passages like this one to confuse us.

34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together, 35 and one of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to trap him with a question. 36 “Teacher,” he asked, “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and the most important commandment. 39 The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 40 The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Consider that last verse: “The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Many people seem to think that if we love God and each other we have done all we must do. No. Jesus wants more from us than goo goo eyes. He wants us to know the whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets, what it is that depends upon our love.

Love motivates us to avoid sin and do what is right, but love is not the same as doing what is right. What did Jesus require of those who love Him?

Was this a trivial command? No. If we love God, we will try to obey Him. Nevertheless, on our own we do not have sufficient strength or wisdom. Thus, in the next verse Jesus promised us a Helper, the Holy Spirit.

So what must we do if we love Jesus? To obey Jesus, we must learn what He wants us to do, and love is not a substitute for knowledge and wisdom.

We must read the Bible. Because the Son of God inspired the Bible, we must glean from the Bible whatever wisdom we can. That is, we must study the Bible and pray for the Holy Spirit to help us understand what Jesus intended for us to learn from the Bible.

As Benjamin Franklin observed, there are many virtues besides love (see BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ON PRIDE AND HUMILITY). To obey Jesus, we each must acquire as many virtues as we can. To do that, we must carefully study the Bible and learn to live by its teachings.

Other Views

Here are several posts that consider the importance of wisdom from differing directions.

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10 thoughts on “WHY LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH”

Really well said, Tom. One problem we have is in understanding the definition of love. In the modern world we think of romance or precious moments figurines, but we completely forget the notion of tough love, fierce love, powerful love. We forget that parents who love their children don’t just pour affection all over them, we also keep them from running into the street.

We each want to capture that perfect moment and make it last forever. Yet figurines, photo — every every work of art that captures such a moment is lifeless. It only makes an impression upon us because we live.

To live well, we must do more than love. We must do what the kind of love you describe inspires us to do.

Reminds me of the baptist. The Lord of course loved the greatest prophet born of women. He KNEW what would befall him. And He in whom dwells the wisdom of God was wise to NOT prevent it.

Justice demands John’s death be vindicated, and it will!, and how much more recompense will the death of the son of God meet? If we would only see that a silent heaven tells us that God is for us, that yes, He loves us!

Now if I can only get right that ‘love your neighbor thing…’ Good stuff CT, and tkx for the heads up.

That is an interesting thought. If we read 1 Corinthians 13, stern is not the word that comes to mind. Too few, until they have experienced the failures that come with the passage many seasons, stop to think of the discipline love requires. Nothing perhaps hurts as much as we know we have failed someone we dearly love.

“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There’s a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts.” Ronald Reagan.